Multiple felony charges against Cliven Bundy, his sons; Ammon and Ryan, and Ryan Payne have been dismissed by a federal judge in Las Vegas, due to prosecutorial misconduct.

Earlier today (January 8th, 2017), a federal judge in Las Vegas threw out multiple felony charges against Cliven Bundy, his sons; Ammon and Ryan, and Ryan Payne due to prosecutorial misconduct during and prior to two previous trials, which had previously ended in mistrials (the first as a result of a hung jury).

U.S. District Court Judge Gloria Navarro dismissed the case with prejudice, meaning that the charges cannot be refiled by prosecutors. The Bundys and Payne were all four facing felony charges of threatening a federal officer, carrying and using a firearm and engaging in conspiracy and potentially decades in prison. Those charges resulted from the “Bunkerville Standoff” against the Bureau of Land Management and other members of federal and local law enforcement back in 2014.

Judge Navarro ruled that the Federal Government had violated disclosure requirements by withholding evidence that could be beneficial to the Bundys’ defense. Under the Brady Rule, prosecutors are required to provide any such information to defendants. As a result Navarro declared that “the court finds that the universal sense of justice has been violated” and therefore a fair trial could not be conducted.

Despite the mistrial, federal prosecutors argued in a legal brief filed Dec. 29 that they didn’t willfully withhold evidence from the defense and they still planned to press ahead with another trial.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Steven Myhre wrote in his brief that the government shared 1.5 terabytes of information and noted it was “by far, the largest review and disclosure operation in this [U.S. attorney’s office] history.”

Myrhe also argued the government needed to protect some witnesses from leaks that might lead to threats, so it “culled the database with witness protection in mind.”

“Unprecedented database volume and witness concerns aside, the government never let these obstacles stand in the way of diligently working to fulfill its discovery obligations,” he wrote.

But defense lawyers for Payne — Renee Valadares, Brenda Weksler and Ryan Norwood — argued in their Dec. 29 briefing seeking to dismiss the case that government “failed to accept responsibility for any of its failure to disclose evidence” and the withholding of evidence was “flagrant prosecutorial misconduct.”

“The government’s irresponsible and, at times, false proffers to this Court as well as its dismissiveness toward the defense inspires no confidence in the prospect of fairness,” they wrote. “A dismissal is necessary to remedy the constitutional violations, to preserve the integrity of this court’s processes, and to deter future misconduct. Anything short of a dismissal is tantamount to condoning the government’s behavior in this case.”

In addition, Det. Gondo was also indicted on drug charges with five other people that are not police officers. That indictment included using inside information to tip off drug dealers regarding BPD investigations. Gondo was also accused of being directly involved in the drug operation itself.

The crimes were uncovered in the process of an ongoing probe by the FBI into a pattern of civil rights abuses perpetrated by members of the Baltimore police. That probe was initiated after attention was focused on the city by the murder of Freddie Gray in April of 2015 and the subsequent riots.

(United States Attorney Rod J.) Rosenstein accused the officers of participating in “a pernicious conspiracy scheme” that “tarnishes the reputation of all police officers.”

“These defendants were allegedly involved in stopping people who had not committed crimes, and not only seizing money but pocketing it,” he said. “These are really robberies by people wearing police uniforms.”

All seven officers appeared in handcuffs and street clothes for initial hearings in U.S. District Court in downtown Baltimore on Wednesday afternoon. Each was represented by a court-appointed attorney. Each affirmed he understood the charges against him.

All of the officers were ordered held pending detention hearings. Hearings for Gondo, Hendrix, Hersl, Jenkins, Rayam, and Ward were scheduled for Thursday. A hearing for Taylor was scheduled for Friday.

Prosecutors and the officers’ attorneys will argue at those hearings about whether the officers should be released before their trials.

Family members of several officers were in the courtroom and voiced their support and love before the officers were taken away. Family members declined to comment.

Defense attorneys for the officers said they were still getting acquainted with the allegations in the indictment.

Police union President Gene S. Ryan said union officials were “very disturbed” by the charges against its members.

“These officers are entitled to due process and a fair trial in accordance with the Constitution and the laws of our state,” Ryan said in a statement. “It would be inappropriate for me to make any further comment until the charges leveled against these officers are finally resolved.”

Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby said the involvement of federal authorities “confirms the inherent difficulties with the BPD investigating itself,” and warned the indictment would have “pervasive implications on numerous active investigations and pending cases.”

Her office was not involved in the investigation, and was not informed of it until Wednesday morning…

Some of the officers have long been accused of using excessive force or of other wrongdoing. The city has paid out more than $500,000 in settlements in cases involving the officers, according to a review by The Baltimore Sun.

Members of the city’s state legislative delegation called for a federal investigation into Rayam in 2009 after he was involved in three shootings over the course of two years. The city has settled multiple lawsuits involving Hersl.

“The majority of these officers have been known to my attorneys as having significant credibility issues,” Baltimore Deputy Public Defender Natalie Finegar said. “We have aggressively been pursuing personnel records to be able to highlight the issues with their credibility on the force.”

Rosenstein said federal prosecutors quietly dropped five cases involving the Gun Trace Task Force while the officers were being investigated.

As recently as October, the Police Department was praising the unit in an internal newsletter for its work getting guns off the streets. The unit made more than 110 gun arrests in less than 11 months last year…

In one incident in September, federal prosecutors said in court papers, the officers stopped an individual leaving a storage facility and said they had a warrant to search his storage unit. They did not, authorities said. Hersl, Jenkins and Rayam then took a sock containing $4,800 and removed $2,000, prosecutors said.

Rayam was recorded telling Gondo that he had “taxed” the man, prosecutors said.

“He won’t say nothing,” Rayam was recorded saying, according to prosecutors.

A month earlier, prosecutors said, officers pulled a man over, detained him and took drugs and $1,700 from him. No incident report was prepared regarding the stop, prosecutors said.

In another incident in July 2016, prosecutors said, they stole $70,000 and divided the money up.

Prosecutors said the officers alerted each other to potential investigations into their activities, coached each other to give false testimony to internal affairs investigators, and turned off their body cameras to avoid recording their encounters.

The criminal activity occurred throughout 2016, prosecutors said. The Justice Department was investigating the department for much of the year.

Justice Department investigators reported that the department routinely violated individuals’ constitutional rights by conducting unlawful stops and using excessive force, among other problems. They concluded that those practices overwhelmingly affected residents of poor, predominantly black neighborhoods.

The Justice Department and the city agreed to terms of a consent decree in January outlining sweeping reforms to the department. That agreement awaits approval by a federal judge.

“We wouldn’t be under a consent decree if we didn’t have issues,” Davis said. “We have issues.”

Meanwhile, the officers’ work was celebrated by the department. Lt. Chris O’Ree wrote in October that the seizure of 132 guns in less than 11 months was “no small task.”

“Their relentless pursuit to make our streets safer by removing guns and arresting the right people for the right reasons has made our City safer,” O’Ree wrote.

Prosecutors also said the officers filed for overtime they didn’t work. On one day in July 2016, prosecutors said, one of the officers told another about being in the poker room at the Maryland Live Casino in Anne Arundel County. The second officer said he was going to get a drink, prosecutors said. Both filed for overtime that day, prosecutors said.

Jenkins nearly doubled his annual salary of $85,400 with $83,300 in overtime in 2016, prosecutors said. Hersl was paid $66,600 in overtime on top of a base salary of $77,600. Taylor made an extra $56,200 on top of his $66,800 salary.

There’s several things that are interesting about this case. One is the fact that, just several months ago the Baltimore Police Department, who was not informed of the investigation until the indictments were ready to be filed, was praising the great work of these same officers. Despite that praise, even before these indictments, several of them already had a history of misconduct complaints, including allegations of violence.

Beyond that, the very nature of the case involves a bit of irony in the characterization of the crimes committed. In his speech while announcing the indictment, Rosenstein described what they were accused of this way: “These defendants were allegedly involved in stopping people who had not committed crimes, and not only seizing money but pocketing it. These are really robberies by people wearing police uniforms.”

Of course, if they had limited themselves to finding an excuse to stop drivers out on the highway, oftentimes whose only “crime” is having out of state license plates, then they could have legally and without any recourse taken whatever cash those drivers had on them. Such cash seizures require no conviction or even so much as the filing of criminal charges. In reality, you could say that the only difference between what they did and drug forfeiture laws was the part about them personally pocketing the money.

Chief Deputy Christopher Radtke, the former second in command at the Pima County Sheriff’s Department in Arizona, has admitted to stealing about $500,000 dollars over the course of six years from federal funds. According to Radtke’s confession, such thefts had been part of an ongoing practice by sheriff’s department personnel going back at least 18 years. Ironically enough, those funds were part of money allotted for RICO investigations and intended to be used for organized crime related offenses, such as embezzlement and money laundering.

Radtke’s thefts were discovered after an article in Arizona Daily Star exposed that a restaurant located within the department run by his niece, Nikki Thompson, had been receiving preferential treatment. That article revealed that the restaurant was allowed to run without legally required permits and that Thompson was not being required to pay any rent for the space where the restaurant was located. The FBI subsequently began an investigation into financial improprieties within the department.

Originally, Deputy Chief Radtke was charged with one felony count of conspiracy to commit embezzlement and seven other felony counts related to the theft of the funds. However, his plea deal called for him to plead guilty to just three low level misdemeanors, described as having stolen less than $1000 for each charge. When sentenced, his “punishment” will be limited to up to one year of probation. Previously, Radtke was also given the opportunity to resign from the department in order to avoid being fired. Part of his plea agreement is that he will never work as a police officer or within Pima County government, as well.

The investigation revealed that Radtke embezzled roughly $500,000 that had been seized from criminals under the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, known as RICO.

RICO funds are intended to be used for crime fighting and prevention, but the indictment says Radtke was misusing those funds, making purchases that didn’t fall under those requirements.

Radtke admitted that for 18 years personnel at the Sheriff’s Department would circumvent the strict restrictions on the use of RICO funds. The officers collaborated to make it appear the department was donating the RICO money to the Sheriff’s Auxiliary Volunteers , although the funds were being used by the Sheriff’s Department, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Radtke admitted that he became part of the practice about six years ago, the release said.

The three counts of theft Radtke pleaded guilty to were associated with purchases made in 2011, 2014 and 2015, U.S. Attorney David Backman said in court Friday morning when summarizing the factual basis for Radtke’s guilty pleas.

For all three incidents, Radtke admitted to knowingly converting funds to be used by the auxiliary volunteers with the intention of depriving the owner — the U.S. government — of the use or benefit of the money or property, Backman said.

In 2011, Radtke used a sheriff’s auxiliary volunteers’ check for $926 to reimburse the department’s award banquet. The rest of the check was used to pay for a restaurant bill and a new microwave for the break room at sheriff’s headquarters, Backman said.

Radtke also admitted to using the auxiliary volunteers’ credit card in 2014, to buy two model airplanes for himself and an unnamed colleague, at a cost of $599 plus $90 for shipping. Five days later, he used the card again to pay $50 rush shipping for the airplanes, Backman said.

In 2015, Radtke used another auxiliary volunteers’ check, this time to pay an artist $500 to make a menu for the chalkboard at sheriff’s headquarters, owned by his niece, Nikki Thompson, Backman said.

The FBI investigation began after a November 2015 Star story about Thompson running cafes inside the sheriff’s headquarters and the jail without a county contract and rent-free.

Public-records requests revealed the Sheriff’s Department spent more than $30,000 on renovations and equipment, the Star reported in November 2015.

While the indictment listed a conspiracy charge and mentioned “other persons known and unknown to the grand jury,” no one else has been charged in connection with the investigation.

“I’m a little concerned about the plea agreement being for three misdemeanors, when he was charged with seven felonies,” said Sgt. Kevin Kubitskey, chairman of the Pima County Deputy Sheriff’s Association, and one of several department employees who came forward to the FBI to corroborate the allegations of misuse of funds. “The men and women of the PCDSA want to know why, and we’re hoping that some explanation is given to us.”

While it was a relief to finally hear Radtke admit wrongdoing and acknowledge this practice has been going on for 18 years, Kubitskey was also concerned the conspiracy wasn’t addressed in the plea.

“I hope that the U.S. attorney realizes the jeopardy people were in by giving all of this information,” Kubitskey said. “I worry that people may not come forward in future situations like this, because of this type of low plea.”

Pima County Sheriff Mark Napier was disheartened by Radtke’s admission that the illicit financial practices had been going on for nearly two decades, and said that the department is working hard to move forward and restore the public’s trust.

“It’s disappointing that such a long-existing conspiracy involving criminal corruption is coming to and end with three misdemeanor convictions and a year of probation,” Napier said.

Of course, nobody else involved in this little scheme to turn public funds into a personal slush fund, during Radtke’s time or during the twelve years (at least) prior, have been charged or seemingly even investigated.

The following post (rant) was shared with the CopBlock Network by William (Kia) D.K. Jones, via the CopBlock.org Submissions Page. William’s submission has to do with the special privileges that police often receive (also known as a “Policeman’s Discount”) regarding when they are caught committing crimes.

Along with his post he states:

“This rant/essay which I’ve titled ‘Blue Privilege in Ohio’ is going to be QUITE lengthy and for GOOD reason. I strongly encourage anyone and everyone to read this to understand just what ‘Blue Privilege‘ is and how it is being used right here locally.

I’m a HUGE fan, supporter, and active cop blocker with MANY possible future submissions. Corruption by the judges and police officers, as well as the reporters and newspapers that cover local issues is RIFE in my area and I would really like to see some accountability in my area.

This all started after I read our local newspaper’s article on the incident and decided to write a short “essay,” if you will, called “Blue Privilege in Ohio” in response, to point out how officers get off on crimes that others would have the books thrown at them. It led me to research a couple different things including the corruption that the judge that heard the officer’s case has been involved in (debtor’s prisons) or imprisoning people who ONLY OWE court costs.

One thing that really bugged me after reading the online version of the same article done by our local newspaper was that they conveniently left out the part where a SECOND Fostoria police officer in UNDER 2 MONTHS was ‘charged’ and not arrested for a similar offense.

In addition, the articles fail to explain many of the details involved, including whether or not the DUI and OVIs were done in their personal or work vehicles. The Advertiser Tribune has been involved in numerous situations similar to this, where they fail to provide details that point to corrupt officer’s actions in MANY incidents in the area.

I decided it was finally time to call them out in a post, since they have blocked me from commenting on their posts (Because my comments are always against them and happen to get the most likes :) )”

As William points out, oftentimes those with Magic Uniforms and Shiny Badges don’t even get charged in those instances in which they are caught breaking laws. Even on the occasions when the Good Cops that catch them can’t or the even rarer occasions where they actually won’t just allow them to walk away without consequence, these Bad Apples typically receive nothing more than a very sharp slap on the wrist.

“Blue Privilege in Ohio”

The Advertiser-Tribune in Tiffin OH, Fostoria Police Department, Fostoria-Tiffin Municipal Court,and Judge Dwight Osterud are all DISGUSTINGLY corrupt and work together to cover each other’s asses, supply the public with dishonest, misinformation, and supply you with no actual valuable information at all, even though it is very much so public record. If the same circumstances happened involving any normal civilian, it would be published in great detail all over their newspaper. This is a PRIME example of what is called “Blue Privilege” which I will address later on in this essay.

Firstly, to grill The Advertiser-Tribune in Tiffin OH. You’ve published VERY different print and web articles on this matter for very good reasons:

Because more people read your stories online now, you’ve chosen to print the ‘full story’ so less people get the ‘full truth.’

To hide the fact that not one, but TWO Fostoria Police Officers, have been charged with DUI or OVI within the past two months.

To cover these officers’ asses.

HIDDEN IN PLAIN VIEW in the PRINT form of this article in The Advertiser Tribune is a SINGLE SENTENCE that states that ANOTHER Fostoria Police Officer; Officer Cory Brian, was ALSO charged with an OVI and his pre-trial case is set to be heard TODAY in Findlay Municipal Court. Seems kind of fishy to title the article “Officer found guilty of reckless operation” instead of “Two Fostoria Police Officers charged with operating vehicles while intoxicated.”

You’re selling a shitty one-sided story to the public and I thought they should know the TRUTH. Not the bullshit you feed them. Your print article, which is read by far less people, includes MUCH more information than your web article and much more DAMNING evidence of the OBVIOUS “Blue Privilege” in this town (That being that police officers are ‘unintentionally’ but beneficially subject to a separate set of policies and laws with separate, lesser consequences enabling them to act above the law with little to no consequences, and are able to get off on charges, when/if encountered by other police officers, MUCH easier than your average civilian with little to no consequences.)

I would ALSO like to point out that Judge Dwight Osterud, who heard Officer Justin Kiser’s case, is well known for extremely corrupt and flat out ILLEGAL court proceedings which involve the jailing of individuals who ONLY owe court fines:

“A federal judge in Toledo has ruled that Perrysburg Municipal Court officials (Judge Dwight Osterud as well as his clerk of courts) “appear to violate the law” by using the Wood County Jail as a “debtor’s prison” for people who owe court costs.

“Imprisonment for debt was long ago abolished,” wrote U.S. District Judge David Katz.’

Fostoria Police Officer Justin Kiser, 34, was pulled over and charged with DUI HOWEVER unlike EVERY OTHER PERSON IN OHIO he did not and WILL NOT serve a single day in jail for this. His case was heard by the infamous Judge Dwight Osterud who changed his FIRST DEGREE MISDEMEANOR Driving Under the Influence charge, punishable by UP TO 6 months in jail and a $1,000 fine, plus court costs, to a FOURTH DEGREE MISDEMEANOR Reckless Operation charge, which is ONLY punishable by up to 30 days in jail and a $250 fine, plus court costs.

Judge Osterud sentenced Officer Kiser to 30 days in jail, with 23 of those days suspended. This means the officer would only have to serve seven days in jail. HOWEVER. Unlike EVERY OTHER SINGLE PERSON who gets pulled over for a DUI, Officer Kiser did not go to jail. He was instead taken to his home which is almost impossible for any normal citizen to be able to do. (Blue Privilege)

ON TOP OF only being sentenced to seven days in jail, he will be credited five days for completing a “driver intervention program” conveniently ran by the Fostoria Municipal Court. In addition, Kiser will also receive a two day credit for completing a “victim impact program,” which is also conveniently ran by the Fostoria Municipal Court. That’s a total of seven days credit, which coincidentally cancels out his entire jail time.

This means that because this man is a police officer, he was able to dodge a 180 day jail sentence and a hefty fine. Instead, he will serve ABSOLUTELY FUCKING ZERO days in jail, due to loopholes in the system that favor police officers charged with crimes.

To sum this rant up, let me attempt to quickly explain the differences in consequences a regular citizen would receive compared to the consequences this officer is receiving:

Instead of getting charged with drinking and driving, he was charged with something MUCH LESSER, which includes things such as peeling out.

You and I: Up to 180 days in jail with a THREE DAY MINIMUM FORCED JAIL SENTENCE (unavoidable), $1000 fine plus court costs, six driver’s license points, ABSOLUTE one year license suspension, possible 1-5 year license suspension, $450 license reinstatement fee, possible 90 day vehicle immobilization, MANDATORY, highly identifiable, and COSTLY OHIO DUI license plates, possible electronic alcohol (SCRAM) monitor for up to six months, possible electronic house arrest up to six months, two years or more on reporting probation, three day driver intervention program, as well as other possible unforeseen consequences.

This police officer: ZERO days in jail, $250 fine plus court costs, four driver’s license points, one year license suspension with credit for the time his administrative license is suspended (exact length of suspension known only to the internal affairs court system), one year non-reporting probation, and two loophole programs designed for lesser jail time.

To conclude, I’d like to point out how much the officer benefits from having his charge lowered from an M1 (maximum criminal misdemeanor) to an M4 (minimum criminal misdemeanor).

He will likely be able to keep his job once his license suspension expires and will likely be able to even keep his job in the same department, as will the other Fostoria officer, whose full court story will likely go unheard of, simply due to the benefits that their jobs carry.

It’s disappointing and disheartening to see that those who are sworn to uphold the law and who are given a duty to ‘punish’ those that break it get such different treatment under the same laws they slap us civilians in the face with. This extreme double standard and special treatment under the law cannot go unnoticed and cannot be left alone to be considered okay practice.

It invites the possibility of further corruption into the very cities that we work very hard in to maintain a community and atmosphere that we enjoy. This situation must be dealt with swiftly and appropriately so that we are not left with entirely corrupt city governments.

**Update** In February 2015, a Federal judge threw out the Third Amendment violation claim of the lawsuit. In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Andrew Gordon stated that police officers could not be considered soldiers and therefore only a Fourth Amendment violation claim was appropriate (rather than both, as claimed by the Mitchells in their lawsuit). The other claims within the lawsuit are still pending.

Submitter Ernie Menard writes, “I just read on Marc Randazza’s blog that Henderson cops wanted to use a person’s house as a location from which to surveil an adjacent property. The homeowner refused entry so the police forcibly entered and arrested the homeowner.”

Posted July 4, 2013

A federal lawsuit filed against the Henderson, NV police department raises Third Amendment issues! How exciting!

In the case, Anthony Mitchell and his family sued the City of Henderson and its Police Chief Jutta Chambers, Officers Garret Poiner, Ronald Feola, Ramona Walls, Angela Walker, and Christopher Worley, and City of North Las Vegas and its Police Chief Joseph Chronister, in Federal Court. The allegations stem from a domestic violence investigation, in which Mitchell alleges the Henderson police wanted him to let them use his house to gain a “tactical advantage” over the subject of their investigation.

At 10:45 a.m., Defendant OFFICER CHRISTOPHER WORLEY (HPD) contacted Plaintiff ANTHONY MITCHELL via his telephone. WORLEY told Plaintiff that police needed to occupy his home in order to gain a “tactical advantage” against the occupant of the neighboring house. ANTHONY MITCHELL told the officer that he did not want to become involved and that he did not want police to enter his residence. Although WORLEY continued to insist that Plaintiff should leave his residence, Plaintiff clearly explained that he did not intend to leave his home or to allow police to occupy his home. WORLEY then ended the phone call. (Complaint at Para 18)

Then, it gets really hinkey.

“Defendant Officer David Cawthorn outlined the defendants’ plan in his official report: ‘It was determined to move to 367 Evening Side and attempt to contact Mitchell. If Mitchell answered the door he would be asked to leave. If he refused to leave he would be arrested for Obstructing a Police Officer. If Mitchell refused to answer the door, force entry would be made and Mitchell would be arrested.’” (Complaint at Para. 19)

So what happened next? Allegedly the cops came to the house, beat on the door, and when Mitchell did not open up, they bashed the door down with a battering ram. They aimed their guns at him, screamed at him, shot him with “pepperball” rounds, searched the house, moved his furniture, and set up a lookout point in the house, and restrained him.